Guess Who
by Blackened
Summary: Someone or something has awakened and seeks fun in tormenting the FF9 crew.
1. Awakenings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy 9 or its characters. These are the material and intellectual property of Squaresoft (Now Square Enix). This goes for my previous fic In The Shadows which I forgot to put a disclaimer on and any other Fan fictions I have written for the Final Fantasy series. This fic however is my intellectual property and I present it to all of you for free and for my own enjoyment. So hopefully I will not be sued for a trifling matter like this as Square Enix surely have more important matters than some English guy borrowing their work in this fashion.

**Guess Who**

Looking back on them dark days I remember how simple my existence was, just like that of my forebears. An existence of disguise, of cramped darkness. No thoughts other than the next meal crossed my mind. A simple mind made up of instincts, to hide, to stay still until movement caused me to move, to strike and devour my prey.

Then out of nowhere came light, the blessing or maybe curse of sentience. Now I was aware of my existence and of the pitiless form of the others of my former kind, noe that I had become. I knew of many new things, those dull instincts making way for exciting emotions. The hunger now wracks my body with aches and in this rainy citadel I can no longer find food fit for my stature. It is time for me to discard this shell of mine and move onto new pastures. Besides now I have discovered pleasure these creatures hold no fun, I desire prey that will keep my interest, prey that will not only feed my physical hunger but also my hunger for fun and excitement.

Zidane Tribal awoke, the pale sunlight streaming in through the fine curtains letting him know it was the start of another day. He stretched and yawned sleepily, still not used to the concept of bed clothes. He had usually slept in whatever he was wearing when he was in Tantalus and during all that had happened with Kuja he was used to sleeping rough.

What bugged him most was the fact that although he was engaged to Dagger he still had to sleep in a room of his own until the wedding. Damn Rusty and Beatrix insisted on it.

He changed into his everyday clothes, his fetching blue outfit was something he'd never give up. No doubt Eiko would soon be around in an attempt to catch him naked. He worried about the little girl's fixation with him especially in one so young. He thought he had been bad before he settled down but then her time alone had matured her well above her seven years. Doctor Tot had returned to tutor and study the young summoner.

Vivi was still in Alexandria, the little black mage and his numerous 'sons' constant visitors to the castle. The only way to tell Vivi from his clone-like 'children' was that he was less hyperactive. Zidane knew that Dagger, as did he, was worrying that Vivi was near the end of his time.

Quina had returned to the marsh having sampled so many foods across the world and still craving frogs, although no doubt s/he would return for the wedding.

Amarant had faded back into the shadows having decided he no longer needed to follow him though who knew when the red-haired fighter would reappear.

The Tantalus crew spent their time split between Lindblum and Alexandria, overseeing reconstruction in both places whilst paying Ruby visits in her Mini-Theatre, whose popularity was growing even without Lowell's help.

Freya had returned home to Burmecia, the Dragoon knight still saddened by her lost love's loss of memory of her but still she held onto hope.

The rain fell from the brim of her red hat trickling into her white hair and down her snout. She held her spear in her clawed hand, the length of the shaft running up along her arm. She was so close to home, the home she had been putting off going back to because of him. She couldn't bear being around him and seeing the blank look he gave her as she went by, but she couldn't run forever, she needed to go home and fix the damage and maybe the damage inside her too.

As she neared the walls of Burmecia, a figure dropped down, spear in hand.

'Sir Fratley!' she called out to him as he gazed upon her blankly as before, relaxing his weapon as he recognised her for one of his own.

'It's me Freya!' she said to him as he still remained blank and at distance.

Then he grinned. 'Freya...' he hissed and drew his spear, lunging at her.

Freya leapt back, the spear tip whistling through her coat, slicing it apart.

'Why are you doing this?' she yelled at him as she parried his lunge.

Fratley didn't answer and instead continued attacking, jumping and stabbing, leaping and slashing as Freya frantically tried to keep up.

She landed on the ground after knocking Fratley back, she sank to her knees, clothes tattered and hanging from her body, exposing what lay beneath. Her breaths were ragged but she wasn't exhausted yet, it was her emotions that were holding her back, she couldn't hurt the one she loved so much even if they were attacking her.

She pushed herself back to her feet and screamed in pain and shock as the spear tip shot through her back and out under her chest, crimson with blood.

Her spear dropped from her hand as she turned to look at Fratley, who stood behind her, gripping his spear tightly and yanked it out, blood and gore gushing from the wound as he leered in pleasure.

Her eyes were full of pain and confusion as she sank to her knees clutching the wound.

'Why?' she whispered, her eyes dimming as Fratley loomed over her, his face and malevolent grin coming nearer.

It stood over the bare bones of the dragoon knight as they lay in her torn, bloody clothes. It sighed as the pangs of hunger were replaced by a full feeling and adrenalin coursed through its blood making it dizzy with exhilaration.

It hadn't expected to find one so powerful so soon and so near. The flesh of her sated the need for nutrients and her energy crackled in its muscles, replenishing its own.

It had rendered her mind as it feasted on her, scouring the thoughts and memories it hadn't been able to see on the surface and it was there with a grin it discovered a host of more suitable prey and where to find them.

It left Freya's remains and its body changed as it took on her form, carrying her discarded spear as it headed towards the hills that housed Gizamaluke's Grotto.

The sounds of croaks filled its ears as it came to the boggy land of its latest prey's home. All it knew was a name and face, unaware what this Quina was, all it knew was that it had been associated with the rat creature Freya, had seen it fight by her side. It had discarded Freya's form after leaving Gizamaluke's Grotto, the pretence sapping its energy and increasing its hunger once more. It crept through the reeds which whispered around its body as it neared the loudening croaks. It knelt in the reeds as it came to the edge of a pond, numerous frogs hopping around and swimming under the wooden humped bridge that spanned a part of it. Then a portly creature came charging around the short banks, diving to catch a frog that hopped from its reaches splashing into the water. The creature was strange wearing some kind of dress and apron, the short chubby legs and feet protruding from underneath, whilst it wore a pink cardigan on top and a mob cap covering its head that seemed to be attached to the body without a neck. A long pink tongue lolled out its huge mouth as it picked itself up, shaking itself. From the reeds it hissed happily to itself. 'Yesssss...'

Quina was surprised as a dark golden frog leapt out of the reeds straight towards them.

'Frog...' Quina said slurping, its tongue swaying vigorously.

Still the frog came closer oblivious to Quina.

Quina pulled out its fork, not taking any chances on this one and became confused as the frog seemed to grow, its limbs lengthening and claws sprouting from its toes as it rose up past Quina's knees.

Quina's eyes flashed in surprise, their cross shapes widening. The frog's tongue lashed out pulling the fork from Quina's hand and spat it back out, the fork sticking into the bridge, vibrating violently.

Still the frog grew, rising up so its big goggle eyes were level with Quina's.

'Big Frog!' Quina breathed and tried to jump on the frog which opened its mouth showing row upon row of razor sharp teeth.

Quina landed in its gaping maw, headfirst onto its sticky tongue and its teeth clamped down onto Quina's back severing them in half, blood gushing into the pond.

The bones cracked as the frog chomped on them, spitting Quina's clothes onto the damp mud. The frog continued to eat Quina's lower torso until nothing was left except their clothes and then began to shrink as it hopped back into the reeds where it became itself once more.

It had been disappointed in Quina, the creature not providing the reaction it had expected. It seemed that greed had propelled it in all it did and that was no good. What's the fun in devouring a creature that willingly leapt into the jaws of death? Its body no longer growled with hunger but its mind screamed at it in disappointment. If it couldn't find fun in stalking and torturing its prey then why did it exist?

It looked up from the marsh to the city towering above on the plateau of the cliff. Maybe there it would find what it needed.


	2. Tantalus Trouble

'Damn it Cinna! Knock it off!' Blank yelled flailing at the bearded, red nosed thief in a white chef-like hat.

'Time to wake up Blank! Cid's got some work for us!' Cinna told the red haired thief in patchwork armour.

'More?' Blank moaned.

'Yeah, we got to take Zidane and Dagger's engagement present to Alexandria.' Cinna told him.

'What's that?' Blank said wearily.

'The latest thing in mechanical entertainment!' Cinna said excitedly.

'Oh God.' Blank groaned pushing the belt he wore around his head down over his eyes.

'Hey don't be like that… just cause they messed up your Tantalus action doll!' Cinna said to him.

'Messed up? I walked all stiff and they got my patches wrong!' Blank said huffily.

'Well Cid's done them a mechanical puppet show for "I Want To Be Your Canary"' Cinna told him.

Blank pushed the belt from his eyes which blazed. 'What? That's our gig!' he snapped angrily.

'Well we kinda have better things to do.' Cinna said backing away.

'Yeah like delivery… If Ruby heard you say that…' Blank retorted.

'Just cause you're sweet on her.' Cinna teased.

'Why you…' Blank growled and dived at Cinna, the two of them rolling on the floor, flailing at each other.

'Will you kids pack it in?' Marcus muttered as he sauntered into the room.

'Kids!' Blank snapped hotly.

'Yeah kids, when you act like adults I'll call you one.' Marcus said grinning.

Blank pushed himself up off Cinna and stood facing Marcus off.

'Calm down Bro, it was a joke.' Marcus told him and leant down to help Cinna up.

'Do we really have to do this?' Blank whined.

'Aww come on, don't you want to see Zidane? Besides it's a good excuse to drop in on Ruby.' Marcus replied winking.

Blank held back the angry blush. 'Yeah well.' He relented.

'Good. The Boss wants us at the Hilda Garde 3 now.' Marcus said with a smile his pointed teeth poking from his bottom lip.

Steam filled the room, hiding the machinery that whirred behind the screen of fog, the mist condensing on the cold metal above, dripping down slowly. Although it had never been on this contraption it was aware of a feeling of familiarity. It knew it was due to its draining of the minds of its prey, the sapping of memories and emotions to feed its imagination and new needs.

It sensed a presence wandering in the mist that it had stowed away in. It tensed in a corner waiting for it to come near, a shadowy figure unaware of what lay in wait for them.

The presence passed them by without noticing, their head so full of thoughts, it could read them at this distance. It grinned in the murky mist as it recognised faces in the cacophony of thoughts. It so wanted to play with this noisy creature but it had to act fast to assume its place. If the others became aware of its presence they would stop it from getting where it wanted and needed to be.

Cinna wandered the engine room whistling as he checked the various levers and valves. He did this automatically, his thoughts on other things and so didn't notice the clawed hand that came shooting from the steam, embedding itself in his throat, destroying his thoughts in silence as blood trickled from the small circular wounds as the claws withdrew. It was then that the shadow pounced on Cinna's corpse and began devouring.

It went up to the deck, the breeze tickling its skin as Alexandria Castle grew larger in the distance.

'Hey Cinna, here's your coffee bro.' Marcus said handing over the steaming cup.

'Thanks bro.' it replied in Cinna's voice, holding the cup in its empty hand whilst it held

Cinna's hammer in the other.

Marcus then wandered off unaware that the eyes that watched him go weren't Cinna's.

It looked blankly at the black hot fluid that burned its fingers through the metal cup. Finally realising it would be out of character to stare at the cup, it took a swig of coffee, surprised as it burnt the back of its throat and then the caffeine hit.

It gasped in surprise as the drug blazed through its system. It hadn't been expecting this, this jolt of exhilaration, this white hot feeling that awoke all its synapses and set them tingling. There was a sensation of white lights flickering in its sight that then faded as the rush washed away. It was all it could do not to revert to its natural form under the effects of this beverage, this coffee that this form's personality had loved with a passion and it was easy to see why.

It greedily drank the remaining liquid, not caring as it scorched its throat, the bitter taste swilling in its mouth as the last drips trickled over its tongue.

It blinked furiously as the caffeine threw its thoughts into overdrive, it had wanted to slowly devour the crew of this ship taking the last one as they reached this castle of Alexandria but with this feeling coursing through its body it could no longer hold back, besides it was aware of only five other crew on this ship three of which wouldn't offer much entertainment, though these two brothers of its current form would make an interesting distraction in the next couple of hours before they reached the castle.

Zidane and Steiner couldn't believe their eyes, the carnage surrounding them worse than anything they had witnessed in all the things they had been through. The populace of Alexandria had watched the Hilda Garde 3 come crashing down on the plateau where Alexandria nestled, forest and earth torn up in a collision with metal hat left both twisted and mangled.

And so they had both rushed out with a group of Alexandrian soldiers to see what had happened, if there were any survivors and all they had been met with was torn metal, corpses and splashes of blood.

Zidane grew more and more agitated as they came across the bodies of members of Tantalus, the three brothers Benero, Genero and Zenero were mere husks, their bodies devoured and discarded with abandon, their blood speckling the deck and walls around them, what remained of them covered in livid tooth and claw marks.

There seemed to be no sign of struggle the three of them dispatched in close proximity to each other yet it was if it had happened so fast there was no time to respond.

Steiner paled at all the slaughter around him, even a battle seasoned warrior as himself was unable to stomach the devastation that had occurred and no matter how he tried he couldn't see this as the result of the crash, rather that someone or something had been the cause of it.

'What could do such a thing?' Steiner spoke aloud his hand gripping his sword tightly.

'Hell if I know Rusty' Zidane said trying to hold in his anger and fear.

They continued to search the ship finding Cinna's bloodstained hat and clothes in the engine room, Zidane's arms trembling as he held the hat in his hand, trying to hold back the tears.

'No! Dammit!' he yelled, clenching the hat tightly as he closed his eyes.

Steiner couldn't console him, knowing whatever he said would sound hollow.

'Let's see if the others are here… they may still be alive' he told Zidane softly.

Zidane opened his eyes which were covered with a sheen of tears, his gaze becoming steely in rage.

The two of them continued through the wreckage coming over the ravaged corpse of Marcus, his bandana torn from his head and tied around his throat strangling him, his pointed teeth ripped from his jaw and embedded in his eyes.

'How can this be?' Zidane whispered trying to deny what he could see with his own eyes.

'What thing could be able to beat my brothers like this, torture them without them resisting?' his voice rising.

Steiner could not reply, just as bemused as Zidane was by what lay before him.

'Blank…' Zidane muttered to himself. 'Blank!' he yelled out the wreckage shuddering, dust drifting down from above.

'Zidane! Lower your voice or you'll bring the whole thing down on us!" Steiner hissed urgently.

'Where's Blank? We've searched the whole ship and there's no trace of him… where can he be? Where? Blank!' Zidane still cried frantically.

There was an ominous creak and a shower of dust as the tortured metal buckled above them and started to collapse on them. Buried in this cacophony was the clanking of Steiner's armour as he rushed at the almost hysterical Zidane and bore him to the ground, the pair of them sliding across the deck as it all came crashing down upon them.


	3. Blanking Out

**Author's note: **Well firstly I'd like to apologise for how long it's taken me to post this chapter (seems like an update a year doesn't it?) Truth is I haven't been writing much Fan fiction for quite a while now… I guess working full time saps my creativity… but since I have a few out standing fics I'd better push myself to finish them. Anyways for those of you who have been waiting for this (if you haven't given up on me that is) here goes…

Blank groaned softly as he awoke, patches of sunlight falling upon him through the dense canopy above as he looked around groggily. He could remember a shadow with teeth and claws that had ripped through the whole of Tantalus, mutilating Marcus before his eyes before slamming into him. He winced as he sat up, moving his arm to find red claw marks across his bicep, slowly oozing blood.

Trees surrounded him and the Hilda Garde was nowhere in sight, he couldn't remember being shook from the ship as it crashed or even dragging himself from it so how could he be here now? Even the Evil Forest hadn't filled him with as much apprehension as he felt right now. The silence of the forest smothered him, the lack of birdsong and the breeze rustling in the trees making his position more eerie than it already was. Clarity came as the fog of confusion and pain drifted away, Blank spun round in the small clearing in which he stood, looking for whatever had brought him here. No doubt it would torment him just as it had done to the others. He wondered if help was on the way, they couldn't have been too far from Alexandria when they crashed surely?

He spun frantically at the sound of a crackling branch behind him but was unable to see anything in the mass of leaves and shadow surrounding him. He had faced many things in his life, so many monsters and even death when he had been petrified but none of them had affected him like this. His heart was racing in his chest and he pushed the band from his eye so he could see more clearly but the greens and browns of the foliage just merged into one whole thing, blinding him to depth and distance.

He slowly started edging his way towards the edge of the clearing all the while glancing round him for that thing, although he had no idea what he would do if it came since he didn't have his dagger with him.

It sat in the branches above the patchy creature, listening to his heart purr in fear and the ragged breaths as he frantically tried to find it. It wondered how it should approach this one, for the others it had appeared in its true form and delighted in their fear and surprise, but it had been over much too quick. Now it wanted a form to confuse and bewilder the creature below, it was a shame they were unarmed for it knew it was a good warrior, maybe as good as Freya had been, now what should it be…?

'Blank!' a voice cried out from beyond the clearing, strained with worry and from shouting.

'Zidane?' Blank muttered to himself as he looked in the direction of the voice, his heart fluttering in his chest as hope and relief rushed through him.

Zidane came crashing through the bushes, his clothing torn and his bare arms covered in small scratches. 'Blank! I found you… I thought it'd got you too…' he said gasping for air.

'Did you find it?' Blank asked apprehensively.

'No so you'll need this…' Zidane told him pulling a dagger from his belt and handing it over.

'I'm not sure this will be enough, it took out the rest of the gang in no time' Blank said sadly, holding the dagger tightly.

'Well hopefully it was killed in the crash… maybe that's how you got away' Zidane replied and turned to head out the clearing back the way he came, beckoning Blank to follow.

Blank started to follow Zidane into the woods, his eyes on the canopy above when a whistling sound and a flash of light caused him to jump back and bring the dagger up, a scraping sound as another blade clashed against it.

'Gooood…' Zidane hissed as he pulled his dagger back and slashed again.

Blank jumped back, confused and blood rushing in his ears as the adrenaline flooded his veins. 'Who are you?' he demanded, dodging another swipe.

'Whoever I want to be…' the Zidane doppelganger replied, jumping up so its tail hooked around a branch and hung there tauntingly.

'Why did you kill my brothers?' Blank snarled, anger overcoming fear and he leapt at the figure, blade outstretched, only to miss as it pulled itself up onto the branch by its tail.

'Come on bro… you have to do better than that' it goaded, flashing white sharp teeth.

Blank jumped up from the ground his body covered with dirt and leaf litter. 'Damn you!' he snarled, his body bathed in brilliant light as Trance took over.

'Yessss' it said gleefully and hopped to another tree.

The two of them leapt from branch to branch, sounds of creaking and rustling the only cacophony in these woods as twigs and leaves fell to the ground below, Blank unable to catch up to the fiend that taunted him even in this Trance state. The fear was gone as the power flowed in him fuelled by anger. This thing had killed his bros and used the face of his remaining bro to torment him, even now it cackled in Zidane's voice mocking with it's laughter as it vanished behind masses of leaves, shafts of sunlight the only breaks in the scenery of various hues of green.

The fiend suddenly vanished dropping from the branch in front of him as Blank continued to leap after it unable to stop as it swung suddenly up from underneath by its tail, arm outstretched as the dagger whistled past his ear cutting the band around his head, it falling down through the canopy slowly as blood trickled down his cheek.

The fiend clasped the trunk of the tree behind him as Blank hissed in pain, turning on the branch and unleashing his Trance ability.

'Corkscrew!' Blank bellowed as he leapt from the branch, dagger in hand as his body started to spin, his arms folding outwards as he neared the fiend, slashing it before it leapt from the tree trunk and Blank spun back down to the branch his arms withdrawing closer to his body once more.

'Good' the fiend hissed as its blood trickled down its arm from its shoulder where Blank's blade had caught it. The sensation of pain was exquisite, new and raw and it was followed by the burning rage as now it really wanted to kill Blank for injuring it so.

The fiend dropped from the tree trunk, droplets of blood splashing down into Blank's face as it's body fell from sight, scattered sunlight reflecting off a dagger's blade that whistled by Blank too fast for him to move, yet even though Blank was frozen in place the blade missed him completely.

'This thing isn't the kind to miss what's going on?' Blank started to think and was cut off as the branch beneath him gave way as the fiend's blade had cut right through it, leaves and twigs whipping at his flesh as he tumbled down, dark gleaming eyes shining from down below as sharp teeth were exposed in a grin so devilish.

Blank tried to push off the tree trunk with his feet moving him from directly above the fiend but already it had started to move, rising up to his flailing body as gravity claimed him. Blank's hands flailed at anything with which he could grip to stop his descent, the blade of his dagger now held in his teeth for lack of anywhere else to put it.

There was a flicker of blue which vanished as Blank slammed into a stout branch below him, his breath hissing through his clenched teeth as he rolled from the branch his hands catching hold of it so he hung below it, his arms straining to pull himself up as pain flared in his chest. He looked down but the ground was too far below for him to just drop and be able to walk away, especially with that thing still up there somewhere.

His body shuddered as the thing dropped onto the branch from above, its feet slamming close to his fingers. He looked up into its eyes, no longer Zidane's even if it still wore his body, but pools of darkness that seemed to go on for eternity, yet from that eternity something looked right back at him. Blank shuffled his fingers trying to edge them away from the things feet as well as to gain a better purchase on the dry, crumbly bark.

There was a rush of air as the thing dropped from the branch only to appear right before him, hanging by its tail so they were now eye to eye. Blank struggled, flailing with his legs to try and kick it away but its tail had a much tighter grip on the branch than he had with his hands. In all the turmoil Blank was unable to stop the hands that shot out and grabbed the dagger that he still held in his mouth. All too late he tried to spit it out, realising the folly of his hasty reaction before. It pushed the blade into the flesh of his lips, blood filling his mouth as the metal edge severed the flesh of his cheeks, his jaw beginning to flap loosely as the muscles that held it were torn. The scream gurgled in the back of his throat, his tongue lolling in a sea of his own crimson blood. Frantically he let go of the branch preferring to risk death from hitting the ground below than dying from this torture.

'Not so fast…' the thing hissed at him as it swung its legs up, hooking them under his arms as his body fell so that he was now cradled by the thing's body, hanging limply from it, unable to fight back anymore as it continued to push the blade further, a crack of bone as his jaw was finally completely detached from his head, falling down through the canopy and down onto the grass, arcs of blood drops sprinkling from it as it tumbled.

The thing watched Blank's eyes intently, seeing all the turmoil of thoughts, emotions and sensations that whirled within the fading glow they held. Still it pushed the blade, scraping flesh from the skull below his ears, and through the pain all Blank could think of was that the torment would end as his hands flailed in one last attempt to grip the thing, hoping to pull it down with him so that Zidane and the others would be safe.

There was a loud crack followed by a soft slivery noise as Blank's arms slumped down along his body, dangling slackly below as his head rolled off his neck and plummeted down to the ground below.

'Sorry but they will be mine… the thing told Blank's corpse as it opened its mouth wide and bit into the stump of Blank's neck, the severed arteries gushing warm blood down the back of its throat.


	4. Labyrinths and General Mayhem

Zidane rose coughing as the dust settled in the darkness around him. 'Rusty?' he called out, hearing a groan in reply which he used to edge along through the twisted metal towards a dimly glinting heap.

'Are you alright?' Zidane asked crouching down towards the groaning Steiner as he sat up shaking his head groggily.

'Where are we?' Steiner asked looking around the darkness that surrounded them.

'I'm not sure, let's see…' Zidane said softly and clicked his fingers 'Fire' he muttered as a spark erupted at his fingertips illuminating the gloom around him.

'Looks like the hold' he said softly before the flame flickered out plunging them into darkness once more.

'Think you're okay to walk?' Zidane asked him.

'Give me a moment…' Steiner said gruffly and there was a soft sloshing sound followed by the popping of a cork.

The sound of drinking was accompanied by brief flashes of green light as the potion took effect and Steiner stood with a clank and jangle of armour.

'That's better now let's see if we can get out of here…' Steiner said and made his way through the darkness with Zidane following behind.

The sound of feminine screams caused them to hasten their steps, the sound of metal clashing as a battle waged on, muffled by the metal and wood of the Hilda Garde. The Alexandrian soldiers were under attack, possibly by whatever fiend caused the crashing of the great airship and the massacre of Tantalus.

'Come on Rusty!' Zidane yelled as he sped off into the darkness, flickers of light as he continually cast Fire magic to light his way.

There was an increase in the frequency of jangling noises as Steiner sped up to keep up with him, as they meandered through the broken passageways to try and find their way to the world outside, the sounds of battle and anguished screams growing louder by the moment.

A crashing sound followed by curses marked Zidane's passage as he slammed into the wooden planks of the hold in the dark, the wood cracking under his weight and he tumbled through in a shower of splinters into another room, dimly lit by slivers of sunlight that filtered through cracks in the outer hull.

Specks of dust danced in the air around Zidane like flies around a corpse, the thought only coming to him because of the shrill scream he could now hear so clearly.

Zidane groaned as he rose, the wood creaking ominously around him as it was a contused mass of broken plateau that arose from the slanted floor.

'Steiner, be careful!' he called out as Steiner appeared at the hole Zidane had created.

In the dim light Steiner could see the numerous platforms that protruded from what had been the floor of this section of the hold, pushed up in the crash landing as the airship had fell over onto her side so that what had been floor was now a steep wall.

Zidane leapt from the platform on which he stood to another slightly below, swaying slightly as he landed as the boards bowed ands creaked in warning to him.

'That may be alright for you, you damn monkey, but there's no way on Gaia that I can do that!' Steiner said hotly as he edged out slowly onto the platform on which Zidane originally stood.

'Come on Rusty! Surely you know how to drop?' Zidane teased as he leapt down again, making his way to what should hopefully be the ground.

'Why you!' Steiner growled and jumped down after him, landing upon the boards which then splintered and broke under his weight, sliding down the slope whilst Steiner frantically waved his arms to keep his balance as he zoomed past Zidane with an accompanying smell of burning wood.

'Damn it Rusty!' Zidane yelled and quickly leapt down from platform trying to keep up with the speeding hunk of metal that was Steiner.

There was as almighty crash and a blinding light as Steiner cannoned into the hull, breaking through the already weakened wood, daylight pouring into the room as the board continued to skid over the grass, spilling Steiner from him leaving him to tumble over the grass before coming to rest, Zidane dropping the last few feet and rolling through the hole himself, coming up to his knees as he rose close to Steiner but that was not all that his gaze fell upon.

Beatrix paced the square of Alexandria nervously as she awaited the return of Steiner and the others. There had been no word from the crash site and the hours were dragging by torturously for her. Surely they should be back by now, what could be keeping them?

'General!' a voice called out to her from the gate causing her to turn.

An Alexandrian solder stumbled through the gate, her long blonde hair cascading down her face, hiding the wounds exposed by the blood that trickled down her chin, her armour a mass of claw marks and blood, a bruised hand clamped to a seeping bicep.

Beatrix rushed over to her 'What happened?' she demanded.

'There was something there, some fiend dark as shadow that attacked us from the ship… we couldn't defeat it…' the soldier whimpered.

'What about Steiner and Zidane?' Beatrix asked frantically as she gently gripped the soldiers shoulders as they started to slump.

'They were inside the ship when it collapsed… they're dead! They're all dead!' the soldier started crying hysterically.

'Compose yourself!' Beatrix snapped and slapped the soldier across the face to shock them back to normalcy.

The soldier turned her face back slowly so that it met Beatrix's, her cheek red from the blow and her hair now brushed away from her eyes.

Beatrix froze as the eyes she looked into now could not possibly be human. 'You…' she gasped.

'They're all dead…' the soldier hissed 'And so are you…' it grinned and it brought its hand up plunging razor sharp claws into Beatrix's side.

Beatrix grimaced in pain and pushed the soldier from her, a spray of blood issuing from the circular wounds, crimson spots blooming in the white of her uniform.

'It'll take more than that to kill me' she snarled and drew her sword Save the Queen.

'That was what I was hoping' the soldier smiled her wounds now fading as she changed shape, features slowly shifting into those of Blank.

Beatrix watched in horror. 'What are you?' she breathed.

'Death' Blank said with a grin and lunged towards her.

Beatrix brought her sword up catching the claws that issued from Blank's fingertips and pushed it back, swinging her sword at him as he jumped back, the tip of the blade cutting a line across his chest that seeped slightly.

The injury only seemed to cause him to grin even more, attacking her again, coming high with one hand and swiping low with the other so that she only had time to block the first blow and barely enough to twist out the way of the second so that the claws only tore a piece of fabric from her uniform rather than flesh.

Her breaths were laboured as the twinges of pain grew in her side, she had to push it away long enough to cast a healing spell upon herself but it seemed relentless, coming at her again and again, always alternating its claws high and low, making her dancing back as she swayed and sidestepped to keep out of the way of those sharp points.

Blank danced in step with her seemingly entranced by the rhythm produced by the clattering of his claws against her blade. He wondered how long she could keep this up as the roses of blood grew larger where he had stabbed her. It knew this one was extremely powerful more so than anything it had faced yet and he wanted to toy with her as long as possible. He could feel the warm trickle of blood running down his belly from where she had scored his flesh but there was no pain, just a burning sensation that exhilarated just like the coffee had done.

Part of him screamed for the kill, adrenaline blazing inside making his movements wilder, more frenzied as he tried harder to injure her, yet still she was able to twist away frustrating him even more.

Beatrix noticed that it was losing its focus, arms swinging wildly making them easier to avoid but harder to predict. She wondered if it could feel pain like she did for the wound she had given it didn't seem to slow it one bit. Maybe she should give it a more fatal one…

Blank was surprised when Beatrix counter attacked suddenly knocking his arm out wide before spinning back in down on her knees so that she ducked under his next swipe, the movement of her blade cutting into his inner arm before she thrust upwards the blade piercing his side going straight through and protruding from the other side in a gout of blood. Blank howled in pain, pulling himself off the blade, now soaked in his blood which ran freely from the wound. The wound blazed hotly contrasting with the surrounding cold numbness as the flesh was deprived of blood.

Beatrix took this moment to quickly cast Cure upon herself as Blank gaped at her in surprise and fury. It watched her wounds heal in envy as it was unable to do so itself so quickly, it needed to feed soon or it would die. Fury and desperation rose within it and there was a brilliant light as it became bathed it the aura of Trance.

Beatrix stepped back in awe "It knows Trance?" she thought to herself, unsure what to expect next as it rushed towards her, trailing blood, much faster than it had previously.

Claws whipped out from the air around her as it closed in on her, its hands a blur as she frantically tried to block every blow, the dance now much more fevered and up tempo. Her body stung as tips of claws raked her all over yet never were they able to pierce. Blank howled like a banshee as its blows came as a constant flurry of movement, casting off Beatrix blood along with his own as they continually circled the square.

"Surely someone has heard all this by now?" Beatrix thought as she continued the fight, trying to push back under the constant press of blows.

"Just die already!" she thought exasperated, her gaze flickering briefly at the gaping wound in its side and noting that the blood flow had now been stemmed.

Still its body glowed in the light of Trance, its endless fury prolonging the state as it slashed manically, relentlessly. It wanted to taste her flesh, wanted to see her life fade away in its hands, the fear and defeat evident in her eyes.

Upon thinking this it slashed at her headband wanting to tear away the eye patch that obscured one of her eyes, denying it a full view of her emotions. The band of fabric fell away in shreds exposing the line of scar tissue that crossed the orbit of her eye, which itself was a pearly white orb that looked blankly at him.

It froze unnerved by the sight of an eye that was an opposite of its own black orbs as Beatrix growled in anger at being unmasked.

'You!' Beatrix snarled taking advantage of its surprise and slashed downwards, her blade biting into its thigh, the rush of pain bring it back to the present as it brought its hand round to her face as she tried to pull the blade from its thigh, screaming as its claws pierced the offending eye.

Beatrix pulled he blade free as blood poured down her cheek, the sensation not a new one since it was just like what happened the first time her eye was injured, but the pain was a lot shriller sensation. She focused through it all trying to call up the will to enter Trance, put her upon a level playing field with it.

It came at her again breaking her concentration just as she had approached Trance, her blade swinging to meet the oncoming arm and slicing through it, the limb flying across the square and landing on the dusty cobbles.

Blank hissed, teeth grinding together as he clenched his jaw. The pain injected further power into its Trance and from inside its mind where it had absorbed memories and thoughts from its victims the ability rose.

'Unbidden' it hissed at her as the aura flared darkly and it came at her, its body now a blur as it seemed to vibrate from side to side.

Beatrix slashed at where it seemed to be and stepped back only to find her back pressing against flesh as the arm snaked round, claws digging to her wrist causing her to drop her sword, the blade hitting the cobbles with a metallic clang.

She tried to lash out with her elbows only to find them meeting air before being clamped to her sides as hot breath tickled her neck.

'Play time is over' it hissed in her ear as claws raked down her chest tearing her uniform and exposing the flesh beneath. It then yanked her head back so her only good eye was looking up into its endless pools of darkness, her pale neck extended, blood visibly pulsing in the arteries, throbbing as her heart purred in fear.

It leant in close as it to kiss her quivering lips and plunged its claws under her sternum, forcing up so it could tear her heart from her chest and held it as it beat faintly a last few times, its eye next to hers as the final flickers of pain, fear and other thoughts faded away and it became dim and lifeless.

It held her against its chest as it bit into her heart, tearing chunks out of it that it chewed vigorously and swallowed them, her head resting back upon its shoulder as if watching it eat her heart. Once it had finished devouring her heart it turned its attention to her throat, its claws tentatively caressing the flesh before violently it sunk its teeth into it.


	5. Showtime

Bodies lay strewn across the field around them, the grass darkened by blood as the remains of the squad of Alexandrian soldiers dotted the landscape, barely discernable as human anymore.

Zidane had witnessed war and death before, the destruction of his original world Terra, yet never something so brutal, something so twisted and sadistic as this. The bodies were ripped and torn, marred by numerous claw and teeth marks as if ravaged by some beast yet the mutilations were too ritualised and concise to be from the attacks of a mere fiend. Whatever had done this clearly enjoyed it, just as it had when it had murdered Tantalus. Pain rose in his chest as he realised that Blank must already be dead, and a shiver of dread ran up his spine as he realised as whatever it was remained out there. His head whipped round towards Alexandria as further thoughts occurred.

'Get your ass up Rusty! We have to get back to Alexandria now!' he yelled and left the prone knight on his back as he started running back towards the castle his blood running cold.

It walked the well trodden muddy paths of the sprawling Alexandria city practically invisible to the bustling crowds that went about their daily business. Its body had regenerated itself after it had feasted upon Beatrix, the battle enlivening it more than it had been damaged. It had felt a pang of discomfort when it ate its own severed arm but it did not want it to go to waste or be discovered by anyone before it found the rest of Freya's old travelling companions. It worried that it was going through them too fast and that it would be at a loss for prey to chance once it had made its way through them all. It hoped there would be more fresh prey when it reached that horizon.

It walked the streets of Alexandria unseen by the eyes of the bustling townspeople, strolling among them as if it was one of them, all unaware that a death bringer roamed through them all. Its eyes looked up to the castle in the distance as memories told it of what lay in store there. It would be the temple for its delights as most of Freya's remaining companions were known to reside there, all it had to do was find the next one and decide what torment it could devise for them.

A number of pointed hat bobbing through the crowds caught its eye as the crowds seemed to open up for the wave of small people, most of them running animatedly over the cobbles, sometimes falling over and dusting themselves off as they got up running again. One at the back moved a lot slower and a lot surer, never stumbling as it called to the faster moving ones.

'Slow down boys!' it called after the others, waving its arms frantically.

It watched them pass by, their yellow eyes all that was visible in the darkness under their hats and memories fell into place. 'Vivi…' it hissed softly to itself with a smile.

It had only been aware of there being only one of the small black mages in Freya's party but here it had six of them, all created from Mist, a product of the planet's own life force. It just had to taste them, but what form could it take to present itself to them to get the right reaction? It thought to itself concentrating on the slower Vivi since it was likely to be the original, these Mist puppets had a limited lifespan so maybe it'd be doing the slow one a service.

It followed the tribe of Vivis through the streets taking care not to be noticed, blending in with the other townsfolk to avert suspicion. This became harder as they headed down a small alleyway so it crept up the walls reverting to its shadowy true self and blended in with the darkness there and watched them all troop down a stairway into a room underground. It slunk down the wall and slid down the stairs into the gloom waiting for its chance.

'Afternoon boys! Come to see another show? It won't be awhile you know' a woman with blue hair cascading down one side of her face, the other side covered by a hood told them.

'That's okay, we'll wait, Ruby' the original Vivi told her as the other clambered over chairs sitting at the tables before the stage.

A figure stood in the corner of the room, feigning disinterest in all others, his floppy hat covering his head, hiding his face.

'If you're not going to perform why don't you just leave Lowell?' Ruby yelled over to him witheringly, tired of the whiney actor who only seemed to be good at depending upon her to give him a room over his head.

'Me? Perform in a hovel like this? I was the most famous actor in Lindblum!' he answered back indignantly.

'Now you're a dead actor…' a voice hissed as claws struck from the darkness and ripped Lowell's head clean off, his hat floating to the ground with four tears in it as Lowell's body slumped to the ground.

Ruby screamed trying to run for the stairs as the Vivis grabbed for their staffs, the tips glowing to light up the gloom that surrounded the room.

The shadow snaked over to the stairs before Ruby got there slamming the door shut and slamming the bolt across locking it tight.

There was another scream from Ruby as she slammed into something solid in the dark, the scream becoming a gurgle as strong hands clamped around her neck, squeezing ever tighter until she could no longer breathe, her eyes being watched as they faded to lifelessness, a sigh of contentment in the dark before her body was hefted at the pack of Vivis, slamming down onto the table and causing them to disperse.

There was a sensation of movement around them and they all spun to follow it, bumping into the fallen chairs as they did so, their staffs crackling with energy as they nervously prepared their spells.

A sound of ruffling feathers drew their eyes to the stage where the lamps suddenly burst into flame, lighting the figure that stood there, a tall black mage in a dark blue coat and tan coloured pants, their face merely two malevolent yellow eyes peering from under a tall pointed hat as two feathery blue/green wings ruffled behind its shoulders.

'Black Waltz!?' Vivi gasped, his five sons looking from their father to the tall mage in awe, gripping their staffs tighter.

'You will never escape me Prototype' it hissed at him pulling out its own staff, a long slender rod with a crescent at the end.

'But we killed you!' Vivi yelled and raised his small wooden staff at Black Waltz, the end sparkling with magic as the Firaga spell gathered.

'You can't kill what doesn't live!' Black Waltz retorted and waved his hand before him, a crystalline green shell following the movement of his hand, protecting him as Vivi's spell hit it and bounced back setting fire to the table.

'You know white magic?' Vivi gasped as one of his sons put the fire out with a Water spell.

'I have learnt many things, all so I can make stopping your existence all the more enjoyable' Black Waltz told him with a dry laugh.

Vivi dipped his hand into the pocket of his coat and drew out a handful of small aquamarine stones placing them into small pits in the handle of his rod. Black Waltz watched him curiously unsure what the gems were meant to do not having come across them in the memories it had scoured from its victims thus far, or if it had they lay buried for now.

Vivi nodded to his sons 'Reflect Null!' he yelled to them and another spell charged up at the end of his rod as his sons copied the action their father had just done.

The spell ripped from the end of Vivi's rod, red flame spiralling towards the Black Waltz that tore through the shell of Reflect, burning into him and making him leap back patting out the flames on his clothes, yellow eyes widened in surprise.

More flames roared at him as fire balls arced from Vivi's five sons, Black Waltz dancing between them all as they slammed into the stage, the wooden planks blackening from the impact of fire. Black Waltz stood in the flickering light, chest heaving as if breathing rapidly, it hadn't been aware of such power and it couldn't even return fire as although it held this form it hadn't the ability of black magic, not until it could devour one of the Vivis.

For now it waved its hand across its body once more during the respite in the barrage of flame, the Vivis needing time to recharge their magic. A pale blue orb flashed briefly around its body before it leapt from the stage, out into the audience of Vivis that surrounded it. He knew their weakness, by coming closer he rendered their magic ineffectual for here they were likely to hit themselves too and physically he was much more imposing.

The Vivis scattered trying to give themselves room to cast another volley of spells at their enemy but it was too late. Vivi watched in horror as all his sons were stopped in a flicker of shadow, rods clattering woodenly on the floor as their stiff bodies fell.

The horror bloomed into rage that was cut dead by fear as the Black Waltz drew up before him gripping his small arms and lifting him up so that they were eye to eye.

Vivi watched as the yellow eyes turned to black as if the Black Waltz had closed its eyes but there was a sheen and glint that made it clear that its eyes were well and truly open, orbs of endless dark that seemed to hide whatever lay inside.

'What are you?' Vivi asked shaking and struggling in its grasp.

'Everything you fear most' it replied 'Now you answer my question and your end may not be that painful'

'What do you want?' Vivi asked his legs kicking out but making no contact.

There was pain as Black Waltz twisted his arm so that his rod appeared in their line of sight, the blue gems glinting in torchlight. 'These gems what do they do? How do they work?' it demanded.

'Forget it I won't teach you about Auto-abilities' Vivi snapped back defiantly.

Black Waltz shook its head sadly 'Let me tell you a secret, you will teach me regardless for when I devour you I will gain all that lies in your head just like I did from your companions. This way I will know straight away rather than waiting for it to surface from all the foreign memories I now contain'

'Then why don't you just do that?' Vivi replied now resigned to his death.

There seemed to be a subtle movement in the shadow beneath the eyes, like that of lips forming into a smile. 'You and your sons did not fulfil my needs for enjoyment but soon that will change once I devour them and learn how to use your magic. Using your own Auto-abilities against you would heighten this'

'You're insane!' Vivi cried.

'We'll see on that' came the reply as Vivi was lowered onto a chair and bound tightly to it as Black Waltz stalked over to prone forms of his sons and faded into darkness, the form it held now unable to be seen clearly, a blackened blur.

Vivi strained against his restraints trying to free himself, his eyes closing in disgust as he heard the sounds of mastication, tearing of flesh and breaking of bone as it devoured his sons. The rage that had been buried before now rose once more to the surface. He had always feared death, had been aware that it was coming for him as his body slowed in its gait but now it was here he would fight it to the last, it had already taken his sons he had nothing else left to hold him back.

A sensation took over his body as it flickered with a bright aura, the ropes seeming to be burnt away by these ethereal flames as Vivi opened his eyes once more to find the Black Waltz standing before him, eyes yellow again, giving him a look of amusement as his staff now began to crackle with magic.

'I know Trance too' it told him its voice tinged by amusement 'Let the show begin'

Magic shot from the points of Black Waltz' crescent staff, flames slamming into the chair where Vivi once sat, splinters of wood raining down onto him as he rolled over rising up to his knees and thrusting his rod before him as it billowed out two pulses of magic, one red one blue.

The spells smacked into Black Waltz' shell with a burst of flame and a shattering of ice crystal, the impacts causing him to stumble back slightly. 'So that's what your Trance allows you to do' it hissed.

Black Waltz danced across the room dodging the numerous spells that Vivi cast at him, all the while laughing in glee as the smaller mage moved from table to table to keep some distance between them. Black Waltz did not cast any spells in return, seemingly too busy evading to return effectively yet in truth it was biding its time, waiting for Vivi to make a mistake as it increased the terror that was mounting in the little mage's trembling form.

There was a small spark and a small imploding sound from Vivi's rod as the spell failed to be cast and Vivi looked at it in horror.

'I guess you're all out of power' Black Waltz hissed, chuckling hoarsely as his own staff started to crackle and three bolts of lightning lashed down at Vivi, one of the knocking his rod from his grasp, the second knocking from his feet, and the last pinning him too the ground as his body twitched and small puffs of black smoke drifted from his singed coat.

Vivi looked up at Black Waltz as his prone form lay on the ground, an ominous chanting coming from the darkness beneath its hat, the crescent on his staff beginning to crackle with some dark power before the spell was unleashed. A ball of black energy gripped Vivi's body, picking him up before it squeezed and stretched him again and again before dropping him once more. He hadn't had time to breathe when the next spell hit him, numerous small meteorites began slamming into the ground around him, splintering the floorboards and tearing into him as shards of rock rained down on him. He could hear Black Waltz malicious laughter now but without his rod and drained of magic power he was helpless to avoid this onslaught. The Meteor spell faded and Vivi looked up to see Black Waltz' yellow eyes looking down at him in disgust. It prodded him with its staff, its eye turning to slits as it pushed the point down into Vivi's body, dismayed that no blood issued from the wounds, merely small wisps of white mist.

'You disappoint me little mage' he hissed pushing down harder into Vivi's flesh so that he howled in pain, the sound of the staff hitting the wood beneath muffled by the agonised screams.

'I thought the Mist gave you power but it seems it has a limit. It makes you the weakest out of all your friends so far. I pray that none of them will dismay me as much as you did' it told him, as it raised its staff and lifted Vivi from the floor still impaled upon it, more wisps of Mist issuing from his wounds.

'Your existence was already near its end, even I could see your body slowed by age, I have merely sped it up so you reached the end before merely stopping without notice.' It added as it brought the struggling Vivi closer.

'But rejoice for you will be able to live on in me, everything you know, every memory you've had will continue in me' it said with a smile that appeared in the darkness under its hat as two rows of razor sharp teeth appeared before tearing into Vivi, sending him into the darkness of oblivion from which he had came.


	6. Torment

Zidane came sprinting through the gate to the Square in Alexandria, Steiner somewhere behind him, huffing breathlessly in exhaustion, his armour weighing him down. Zidane noticed the splashes of blood that covered the cobbles of the square and froze for a moment waiting for some kind of attack. He wondered whose blood this was but there was nothing to give him a clue, no corpse or shred of clothes remained only the blood. He glanced up at the castle in the near distance and then briefly back at Steiner who still had to catch up, but Zidane had already wasted enough time waiting for him, as he had started retching at the corpse field back at the carnage of Hilda Garde and now all Zidane cared about was getting to Dagger before the murderous monster did.

It had curled up on the stage of the mini theatre after it had devoured Vivi, returning to its natural form of darkness as its body felt full and satisfied from the huge meal of Mist. Its eyes closed as it drifted into sleep, lulled by the feeling of contentment from a full belly. In its sleep it dreamt, flashes of the memories of those that it had devoured flickering inside its mind, faces of those that it would hunt next appearing briefly and then fading away as the small scenes quickly played away. Then came the four wooden walls that had once constrained it, its world before it had truly awoken into light. Its mind panicked momentarily, thinking it had been returned to its pitiful origins, encased in the chest it was destined to carry like a hermit crab and its shell. But it knew it had cast off its hindrance of a shell, was now free to enjoy the pleasures the wider world offered it in the form of its new prey. It no longer had to wait for those foolish enough to be tricked by its appearance to approach but now had the mind to create so many different ways in which to snare its prey. It never wanted to go back to those dark days, it had tasted so much that it could never let itself be restrained in that state of ignorance. It pushed at the walls, claws digging at the wood until it creaked and splintered, small shafts of light piercing the darkness as each blow brought it closer to freedom. As the chest crumbled around it a sound of clanking metal could be heard, growing louder as it approached it and light poured into its world once more.

Its eyes opened in the gloom of the mini theatre and the clanking sound could still be heard, louder still. It blinked groggily as the dream faded from its mind and the sound triggered a flash of memory, of a person it had been hoping to meet soon enough. The energy of the Mist it had devoured from Vivi and his sons now made it shiver with exhilaration just like the coffee it had drank back on the airship, it really had no need to feed again so soon, but to let this one get away from it now would be too much of a waste and so with a twisted grin it made its way up the stairs and traced the sound that to it was a ringing siren.

Steiner watched Zidane disappear through the streets of Alexandria, leaving him far behind and alone as the town seemed eerily empty. His face was starting to redden again from exertion, having paled a few moments before when his stomach had lurched at the sight of the fresh blood that splashed the square, his heart fluttering as he wondered whether Beatrix was safe from whatever wretched thing was causing such carnage. A voice caused him to skitter to a halt, his armour jangling as his body suddenly jolted to a stop and the metal of his shoes rasped against the cobbles.

'Steiner…' the voice said weakly as a figure slumped round the corner of an alley, their clothes torn and bloodied, claw marks rending their flesh as an eyeball hung loosely from its socket, dangling by the thread that was the optic nerve, whilst the other pearly white orb looked out blankly.

'Beatrix?' Steiner almost stammered as his body jolted in revulsion and shock, his armour betraying his automatic reaction to the sight of her.

'Where are you?' Beatrix reached out with her hand, waving it in front of her as she took a faltering step forward in the direction of his voice.

'What happened to you?' Steiner replied frozen to the spot.

'Will you not come help me?' Beatrix said with a twisted smirk, countering his question with her own. 'Do I disgust you?' she taunted her hand now gently gripping her damaged eye and raising it up so it could stare coldly at him.

'Is this all your love amounts to? I stand before you close to death and you spurn me because my wounds disgust you?' she continued with a hollow laugh, tearing the eyeball from the nerve now and throwing it at him so that splashed on his armour near his neck.

Steiner flinched in horror and grimaced in disgust as the vitreous fluid trickled down his chest, his mouth flapping open and shut as he failed to find words to answer her.

'What kind of knight are you? Indecision always holds you back and yet you always blame it on others. You couldn't even save me!' Beatrix snapped bitterly, stepping towards him more solidly now, her legs no longer trembling beneath her but held steady. Her lifeless eye seemed to bore deep into him as her hand came up, the arm trailing an arc of numerous ribbons of flesh as she struck him, blood trickling down his cheek as four cuts opened up.

The pain stung him into action as he reached for his sword. 'Who are you really? Beatrix would never act this way!' he demanded, tasting the blood as it trickled into the corner of his mouth.

'So slow you stupid stuffy captain!' Beatrix cackled and her form faded, a clawed hand of darkness lashed out, scraping against the chain mail of Steiner's upper arm but still a spray of blood erupted from underneath.

'I am all you fear, all you love, all you hate. I am everyone and no one. I am oblivion' it told him as it now stood before him in all its true glory, a nebulous humanoid form of pitch blackness that seemed solid and glared at him with eyes that somehow impossibly gleamed with an even darker blackness.

Steiner grimaced as the blood flowed down his arm, the pain making it hard to use it to hold his sword up to this strange enemy. 'So you were the one who caused the massacre! Where is Beatrix?' he growled.

It smiled at him, a row of glistening white teeth suddenly appearing from the dark folds of its lips. 'She is here and here' it told him patting its stomach and tapping its temple.

'You monster!' Steiner roared and lunged at it with sword raised, his body flashing with the activation of Trance in mid air.

It sidestepped his heavy handed strike, his sword slamming into the ground causing the cobbles to crack and shatter, his blade visibly vibrating from the force of the blow.

'Still too slow, you rusty old man. Your woman was much better than you. How could a General like her ever feel anything but pity and contempt for a Captain as useless as you?' It taunted him from behind, a clawed hand again raking his flesh, this time that of his other arm.

Steiner hissed in pain as he spun round in retaliation, rising from a crouch and pulling his blade from the cobbles with a spray of grit, but the shadow had already moved again, only the flicker of movement from the corner of his eye to save him as he raised his sword to parry another strike to his side.

'Better… but can you keep it up?' it hissed at him as its other hand lashed out and tore a piece of his chest plate away, exposing the flimsier chain mail beneath.

Steiner leapt back slightly more nimble now as he was wearing less armour weighing him down, however the drawback was he was more vulnerable to attack. If this thing truly had defeated Beatrix he had little hope of repelling it for too long.

Another blow and the ringing sound of armour clanging to the floor as it tore the piece around his waist was enough to cause him to shake the voice of doubt from his mind. He couldn't just give too easily what would Beatrix think of him if he just laid down and died rather than stood and fought. He had saved this world from destruction, this fiend was nothing compared to that.

'But you were not alone then' the figure said softly as it stopped before him, no longer a dark blur in the periphery of his vision, one of its long clawed hands cupping its chin as it grinned malevolently at him.

Steiner used the moment to strike swinging his sword at its neck going straight for the kill, only to find his arm shudder at the force of his sword slamming into its waiting palm, its long fingers gripping around the blade tightly, bright crimson blood oozing from between the digits as Steiner struggled to tug it free.

'What good is strength if you haven't the speed to use it effectively?' it asked him, pushing the sword down and Steiner's arms along with it.

'But then what worth is speed if you haven't a strong enough will to use force with it? That was your friend Freya's downfall' it added releasing the blade and throwing Steiner back, spraying him with a sprinkle of its own blood.

Steiner landed on his back, eyes wide in shock, quickly rising up to defend himself but it still stood where it had thrown him from, watching him intently.

'You won't be the first to fall and you won't be the last, my dear rusty knight. Freya, Quina, Tantalus, Blank, Beatrix and Vivi have all so far succumbed to me, and the rest will all most undoubtedly follow. The question is how will you die?' I told him grinning slowly.

Steiner didn't waste any breath replying to the demon's rhetoric feeling that his Trance state was beginning to fade now he would soon lack enough strength to even try to compensate for his lack of speed. He had to do something to wound this monster if not slay it so he could send warning to the Queen and the others. He had to make a decision now, choose something for himself rather than wait for orders.

There was a clatter of metal as fragments flew at it, slicing and piercing its flesh as a now unencumbered Steiner stormed at it behind the shower of his remaining armour, his body clad only in chain mail and leather, the burden of weight now removed in this last ditch attempt to use every ounce of strength and speed he had remaining, driving his blade deep into its gut and out the other side before twisting and drawing it back out.

It hissed in pain, its blood splashing the dirt on the ground, mixing with it. It reached out for Steiner again but pain made it slower and he was able to parry its strike with ease. He had wounded it and should flee but the elation that he had been able to do so and the lust for vengeance of Beatrix's death drove him to strike again, pushing it back so it stumbled upon a curved piece of armour, his blade slicing its chest before it rolled away.

It rose clutching its bleeding wounds, its lips twisted into an agonised and enraged grimace. Steiner came at it again, his own lips a snarl of defiance, his bloodied blade making a crimson arc through the air at its neck once more, yet it ducked the blow this time, coming up under his arm as his body turned with the momentum of the swing, its clawed hand plunging deep into armpit before it ripped his arm from the socket, Steiner's blood gushing to join that of the fiend's, the ground now a canvas for the inkblot painting of scarlet.

His remaining arm flailed weakly as it tried to swing the heavy sword, the pain driving away all other emotions now and his head began to spin from the lack of blood.

'Nice attempt but still not good enough, at least you proved yourself worthy of your woman' it hissed in his ear before it tore it off with its teeth spitting it back down upon him as it pushed him to the ground so that he looked up at it splayed on his back.

It yanked his sword from his feeble grasp, his eyes blinking slowly as he felt himself slowly drifting away. A sharp burst of pain caused his mind to come back to focus once more as it plunged his own sword into his leg and twisted it viciously.

'Did I give you an order to leave yet?' it hissed, pulling the sword out and swung the point of the blade slowly over his face like a pendulum.

Steiner's gaze was drawn to the blade so he was unable to see that the wounds he had inflicted upon it were already starting to heal courtesy of the mist energy it had consumed from the Vivis.

It was strange what thoughts fizzled in his head as the end was all too clearly here. His arm was no longer attached to his body but he could still vividly feel it, the sensation of his fingers as they flexed and curled. This thought was destroyed as more pain flared within him, the blade slamming into the palm of his good hand and ground into the dirt as it had been the one he had felt moving, trying to make another attempt at an attack even as his life was fading.

A slap to his face and his eyes opened to the dim light above only to be met with opaque darkness. 'Still with us then?' it asked sarcastically, it now straddling his chest, holding his body down.

'It would really be a shame if you were unable to witness your own demise, to rejoice in the comfort of death and your assimilation into me with the rest of your friends' it told him.

'Raving lunatic!' Steiner muttered in reply, a mist of blood issuing from his lips with each syllable.

'Lunacy? I am merely doing what I was born to do, what I was chosen for. This is my purpose of being, there is nothing saner than that!' it retorted leaning down so its eyes filled the whole of Steiner's view.

It dug its claws into Steiner's shoulder watching with amusement as the eyelids slammed open and his pupils dilated. Steiner grit his teeth in pain yet he could feel the rest of himself go numb, all that remained was the warmth in his shoulder and the fuzziness that now begun to crowd his mind, each of his thoughts become fragmented, every train derailed. It was only each burst of pain as it twisted its claws deeper into his flesh that cleared the clouds away for a brief moment allowing him to see the sick enjoyment it was feeling in those obsidian orbs that were its eyes.

With each moment that their gazes met Steiner could feel it digging deeper into him, not just with its claws but with its mind as if it were probing his soul, searching for all his deepest darkest secrets. He tried to force it out, the cold chill that was invading his thoughts, tendrils of darkness wrapping around his memories as they tried to tear them apart.

'Why do you cling so desperately to your memories? Soon they will all be mine yet still you want to hide something from me before you go' it whispered softly, its voice hissing in his ear.

Another flash of pain, this time in his side, his eyes trying to shut tightly but forced open once more and the tendrils slunk deeper within, touching each of his memories before casting them away unsatisfied. Then there was a flash of light within his head as a tendril tapped a memory that lurked in a secluded corner of his mind, it then wrapped around it tightly before it pierced it and forced its way inside. He could hear a sigh of contentment and it hissed 'Yessss' before the tendrils suddenly tore themselves from out his mind, the darkness that filled his sight blurring as a view much more frightening came into focus before his eyes.

It was the visage of someone that couldn't possibly be real, a face similar to his own but more defined, more youthful unblemished by the ravages of time. Yet as he continued to gape at it he watched its pallor change to grey, fissures appearing in the flesh that erupted into gaping vents of green rotting flesh, the eyes clouding over from a pale blue to a milky white.

'It's been a long time my brother, I guess you didn't expect to see me after all this time, not after you left me to die on that battlefield' it said, its lips twisted into a malicious leer exposing yellowed stumps of teeth.

'That's not true!' Steiner stammered.

'Liar! You fled after the first volley, leaving me eviscerated by cannon shot, leaving me to die in fear and panic as the enemy marched closer whilst you and the rest of the battalion ran back in cowardice through the smoke and cries of the wounded. No wonder you could only make it to Captain of a rag tag guard. I'm surprised you made it that far!' it said scathingly, skeletal hands clamping the sides of his face, rotting scraps of skin rasping against his cheeks and bony points of fingertips digging into his temples.

'We were young! It was our first every battle!' Steiner said almost whimpering.

'So? I stood my ground and I paid for it. I thought you would at least have my back, attempt to carry me back to our camp but no you left me to be ravished by the enemy. My body stripped of anything of worth and prodded again and again for the amusement of the enemy troops by their swords as I lay there in agony, slowly dying. My soul could never rest and its been waiting oh so long for this moment when it would meet you again' it raged, putrid spittle issuing form the corners of its mouth with the hatred of its words.

'Delsus, forgive me!' Steiner said softly, his eyes pleading.

'Do you feel you deserve forgiveness? Do you think that because you fought to save the world; that you didn't just give in this time that you would be redeemed in my eyes? It makes no difference you should have behaved that way when I was the one who needed you, your own flesh and blood!' he growled, digging his fingers into Steiner's temples now so that his bones ground against that of Steiner's skull.

Steiner winced in pain, his will to go on slowly leaving him as his brother continued to wound and insult him, reminding him of the hurtful past that he had tried so long to cast away, dashing his hopes of his ever making peace with his part in his brother's death. 'Go ahead then, kill me if that would make you feel better!' he said in one final gesture of defiance.

'Oh I'll kill you dear brother but I'll be seeing you in the deepest pits of Memoria where you will be plagued by me for eternity!' Delsus hissed and with that he drove his fingers through Steiner's temples, the bony tips piercing and shredding his brain as the clouds descended upon his mind once more only this time they were like the black roiling clouds of a gathering storm and they quickly enveloped every single one of his thoughts and emotions, before devouring them and for Steiner there was nothing more.

The masquerade of Delsus peered down at the lifeless eyes of Steiner now, its spine tingling from all the emotions it had drawn from him before it had taken his life. It had been amazed at the strength of feeling it had managed to dredge up in those final moments with a single carefully selected memory, a strength that surpassed that felt during actual combat. It guessed it had lied to Steiner, in those final moments of torture he had at least been on par with that of Beatrix. Now all it had to do was devour his body to boost its energy supplies before it went on finally to the castle that towered above them where the rest of its prey surely awaited.


End file.
